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Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) (swab), throat culture, pneumonia testing
If your healthcare provider suspects you have C. pneumoniae, he or she may do a swab test of your nose or throat to test for it. C. pneumoniae is just one of many strains of bacterial pneumonia that a person can become infected with.
When you have a bacterial pneumonia such as C. pneumoniae, it can be potentially life-threatening if not treated. Symptoms may look like a common cold at first. You may have chest congestion, runny nose, and sore throat. But these symptoms can get worse over time. If the infection isn't treated, you may even end up in the hospital. The C. pneumoniae bacteria can't be found by looking through a microscope, so your healthcare provider needs a culture to find out exactly which bacteria you have. This means technicians try to grow the bacteria in your sample in the lab. Then your provider can give you the right treatment.
Blood tests are sometimes used to identify C. pneumoniae. If your healthcare provider isn't sure of the cause of your infection, you may be tested for other bacteria, too.
A result for a lab test may be affected by many things, including the method the laboratory uses to do the test. Even if your test results are different from the normal value, you may not have a problem. To learn what the results mean for you, talk with your healthcare provider.
The best result of a culture is to find no trace of bacteria. If the culture grows bacteria, then technicians can figure out which types of bacteria are there. The best treatment can then be prescribed.
Your healthcare provider rubs a cotton swab in the back of your throat or nose to collect a sample for culture. The swab is taken to the lab, where the culture is grown to find out what germ is causing your illness.
This test poses no known risks.
Other bacteria or germs found in your mouth and throat can cause problems in getting an accurate culture from a throat swab. Although it doesn't affect test results, the other drawback to getting a culture from a throat swab is that it often takes 1 to 3 weeks to get the results. For this reason, other tests, including blood tests, are often done to check for the cause of pneumonia. This way treatment can be started more quickly. But a blood test is not as accurate as growing a culture.
No preparation is needed for the test.
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